Antibacterial, Antioxidant and Melanogenesis Inhibitory Activity of Auraptene, a Coumarin from Ferula szowitsiana Root

Abstract

The auraptene is a geranyloxyn coumarin found in the Ferula species. The plant is endemic in Central Asia and it is used as a medicinal food in Iran. This research aimed to evaluate the antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-melanogenic properties of auraptene, a coumarin from Ferula szowitsiana root. The results revealed that auraptene possessed antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations ranged from 2.5 up to 10 mg/ml against human pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella paratyphi, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus). The nitric oxide scavenging activity (IC₅₀: 670.9 µg/ml) showed its moderate antioxidant potential. Similarly, the results of ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid assays reconfirmed the moderate antioxidant activity of auraptene and indicated the percentage inhibitions of hydroxyl radicals to be 31.87 and 14%, respectively. The cell-based antioxidant evaluation confirmed the antioxidant activity of auraptene through up-regulation of the antioxidant-related genes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the human foreskin fibroblast (HFF). The auraptene has also displayed the anti-melanogenic activity through direct tyrosinase enzyme inhibition (IC₅₀ of 29.7 µg/ml) and could modulate the expression of major melanogenesis-related genes including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1, and dopachrome tautomerase in the murine melanoma cell line. The auraptene from Ferula szowitsiana root exhibited antibacterial, antioxidant, and melanogenesis inhibitory activities.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors would like to thank the Islamic Azad University of Mashhad and the Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia for providing the chemicals and laboratory supports.

Author Contributions

Study design and experimental work were by E. Charmforoshan under the supervision of E. Karimi and E. Oskoueian. The purification of the bioactive compound has been done by M. Iranshahi. The in vitro study was carried out by E. Charmforoshan. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.